It’s the responsibility of every parent to make sure that their children are using the Internet in a safe way, otherwise you won’t know what they are doing or who they are talking to.

Fortunately there are products on the market that can help you, there are plenty of  Internet Safety Software out there which can help.

Software like Spector Pro which takes frequent screenshots of the Internet activity as well as recording chat sessions, Social networking activity emails and web searches, really help you to monitor and look after your loved ones.
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As standard Mint Linux comes supplied with the Gnome Desktop which provides a stylish, easy to use and configurable user Interface, and one which puts the Windows XP experience to shame.

However on the humble Acer Aspire One sometimes Mint Linux 8 is a bit laggy, although using the Opera Browser rather the Firefox assists the web browsing experience.

There are other versions of Mint Linux available which use different desktop environments and one of them is the Fluxbox desktop.

Fluxbox is a lite desktop environment, which means that it’s less complex then heavier desktops and may be missing some of the more advanced functionality, eg you cant grab screen shots with a button press, but it makes up for it with speed, and the Fluxbox version of Mint Linux flies, it’s even quicker to use then Linpus.
It is a little less stylish to use then Mint with Gnome, eg there isn’t a menu button to access applications, the program menu is access through a right click on desktop, but both versions of mint run the same applications.

The table below shows a comparison of the usability and functionality of the 3 types of Linux I’ve tested recently with my scoring:

If you are looking with a really quick operating system for your Netbook and are looking for more flexibility then the original linpus then checkout the Fluxbox version of Mint Linux
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In this post I described how to install FreeCiv on the Linpus version of the Acer Aspire One, and also how unfortunately it stopped working when a software repository was taken off line.

FreeCiv is an open source version of the PC classic game Civilization, and previously I’ve had difficulty getting it to work on the Acer Aspire One but on Mint Linux it works really well.

To install FreeCiv on the Acer Aspire One running Mint Linux.

1) Click on the Mint Menu Bar

2) Click on Package Menu

3) Enter your admin password

4)Search fro FreeCiv

5) Click on the box next to freeciv-client-gtk and click on mark for installation

6) Click on Apply

7) Freeciv will now install and will be available in the Games section of the Mint Menu.

Before Playing FreeCiv right click on the program bar at the bottom of the screen.

9) Click on Properties

10) Enable Auto Hide. This will slide the program bar off the screen when it’s not needed and will give you the extra space needed to play FreeCiv.

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Both Linpus and Mint Linux come with good instant messaging clients:

• On Linpus the Messenger application can be accessed through the Connect Section, and provides access to MSN Messenger
• On Mint Linux a great instant messaging application called Pidgin can be found in the Internet section of the Mint Menu Bar.

Pidgin supports many different messenger systems including MSN, Google, Facebook and many more.

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If you follow this procedure then you will find that the microphone doesn’t appear to work in Skype. If you shout in the microphone during the test call you will be able to hear your voice very quietly during playback.

To resolve this issue:

1) Click on the Mint Menu Button

2) Click on Sound and Video

3) Click on PulseAudio Volume Control

4)Click on the Input Devices Tab and Click on the Lock Channels together button (to Unlock the channels).

5) Slide the Front Right slider down to Zero and the right Left Slider upto 3/4.

6) Close the Volume Control Application

This solves the problem however as default Skype  breaks it again, by setting the volume to 0

To resolve this

1) Launch Skype

2) Go to the Options menu and click on the Sound Devices Tab.

3) Make sure that the option to allow Skype to automatically adjust mixer levels is turned off.

Apply and then close the options window, and make a test call to make sure that everything is working ok.
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This process below describes how to Install Skype on the Acer Aspire  running Mint Linux.

1) Click here to download the install file from the Skype site.

2)  Choose to Open the file with the Gnome installer.

3) When the Package installer loads click on Install Package.

Skype will now install and will be available in the Internet Section of the Menu bar.

There will be a problem with the microphone but this follow up post will show how to resolve this.
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I’ve used Opera before on Mobile Phones but I’ve never considered it as an option for a desktop computer, but I’ve given it a go and and it’s the quickest browser I’ve ever used.

The Internet is rendered extremely quickly and the page update when scrolling is blistering.
Video On Demand  through YouTube or TV Catchup is fluent and impressive.

Opera is quicker then Chrome and much quicker then FireFox.

To install Opera on the Acer Aspire One running Mint Linux 8 ( Helena):

1) Click on the Menu Button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen
2) Click on Package Manager
3)Enter your Admin Password
4)Type Opera into the Quick Search box

5)Click in the box next to Opera and click on Mark for Installation.
6)Click on Apply and Opera will install on your Acer Aspire One, and can be run from the Internet section of the start menu.

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Following the post Mark from the Linux Community Forum contacted me to explain that this procedure installs Mint Linux version 6, and pointed me in the direction of Mint Linux version 8 (AKA Helena).

Version 8 adds the latest software repositories for application downloads and is also a little quicker in operation. In addition Wifi automatically works without the need for extra configuration.

To install Mint Linux 8 on the Acer Aspire one, you will need a Windows PC with Internet connection and a 2gb USB memory stick.

1) Download the the Mint 8 ISO from here

2) Download the USB Installer by clicking here

3) Place the USB stick into the PC and run the USB installer.

4) Click on Agree

5) Choose Mint 8 and select the ISO file that you downloaded

6) Choose your USB drive and select next.

7) Choose the option with 1 GB RW and click on next.
Mint Linux will now install on your USB Drive and you will be able to boot from the stick.

Now reboot your AA1.
On boot press F12 on the AA1 to choose the boot device.
Choose your USB Drive and Linux Mint will now boot from the Drive.

After Mint Linux 8 as loaded feel free to have a play with it to make sure you like it.

You can install Mint Linux 8 permanently on your AA1 by running the install program that is sitting on the desktop, and selecting your internal drive when prompted, then follow on screen instructions.

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In this Article I’m going to describe how to install Wine on the Acer Aspire One Running Mint Linux.

Wine is an application which allows Windows Applications to run without emulation in a Linux environment.

To install Wine on the Acer Aspire One running Mint Linux:

1)Click on the Mint Menu Button in the bottom left hand corner  of the Screen

2)Select Package Manager and input your admin password

3)Type Wine into the Quick Search box

4) Click in the box next to Wine and choose Mark for Installation

5) Click on Apply and Wine will now install

A new section for Wine and Windows applications will now appear in the the Programs Menu.
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The service provides access to BBC, Channel 5, Channel 4 and ITV content through a Internet Browser so no Set Top Box is required.

The good news is that the service works very well on the Acer Aspire One running either Linpus or Mint Linux, although you may want to use FireFox rather then Chrome as Firefox displays video a little better.

To View SeeSaw point your Browser at http://www.seesaw.com/

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